Help us name the new Wild Dog pups in Tembe

16 Nov 2012 | Wildlife ACT

Monitor Diaries

Wildlife ACT recently announced the arrival of six new little Wild Dog puppies in Tembe Elephant Park. Our conservation volunteers are currently trying to sex the Wild Dog pups and create indenti-kits for each pup. The endangered wildlife monitors need to nickname all the Wild Dog pups in the new Tembe Wild Dog litter.

We’d like your help to name all six puppies… the trick is that all their names start with the letter ‘C’. Can you think you of an appropriate name? Leave your suggestions as comments at the end of this blog.

Why do we name the Wild Dog puppies?

Each new Wild Dog puppy automatically gets an ID number. This number gets submitted to the provincial Wild Dog database which is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. However, for monitoring purposes, those ID numbers are tricky to remember so it’s easier to give the Wild Dogs a nickname.

We’re generally against naming animals but it makes it easier for our monitors and conservation volunteers for identification purposes. It’s easier to remember an individual’s nickname rather than its ID number.
The nicknames given are often pertinent to the individual Wild Dog so it makes their names more meaningful and therefore easier to remember. It could be relevant to their colouring, characteristics or even when or where they were born etc. There’s always a practical reason behind their name.
It helps with management – you can easily relay which Wild Dog you’re talking about when relocating animals or managing dispersals.
The nicknames follow in alphabetical order – Eg. In the first litter, all the nicknames start with the letter ‘A’ and then the second with a ‘B’. This helps to know when the litter was born and which reserve it came from.
It’s important to know where each Wild Dog originates from to maintain as much genetic integrity as possible.